With the advent of the information age, more and more people are obtaining and using computers and electronic typewriters, whether at work or at home or both. The main input device for most computers and electronic typewriters in use today is the keyboard, and so the use of keyboards has also increased.
With the increase in the use of keyboards has come an increase in injuries, pain, discomfort, and fatigue caused by repetitive use of the fingers. More and more individuals are using computers either at work or at home and such use has increased across all demographic categories. Computer use is now more widespread among the elderly population for keeping in touch with grandchildren, the working population for both office and personal use, and the younger generation as a means of social and entertainment activities.
Typists using keyboards have experienced a number of conditions, including pain, nerve damage, bone damage and arthritis in the joints. Fingertips may also feel like they are burning or throbbing when they touch the keyboard. Also, use of the keyboard leads to fatigue and general discomfort, especially after extended use. Hence, there appears to be need in the market for some device or apparatus for reducing the pain, fatigue or discomfort caused in some individuals by keyboard use. Additionally, due to the extended time many people spend in the office or at home at the computer, a decorative feature of a keyboard may be well received. Therefore, there is a need in the market for a device that acts as a decorative accessory as a means to personalize keyboards.
There have been several devices proposed in the art to alleviate some of the symptoms caused by extended use of the keyboard. Several ergonomic designs have been proposed including the keyboards described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,017,036; 5,612,691; and 6,404,621. These designs depart from the traditional layout of a relatively flat keyboard, providing a user new choices in keyboard designs, not a means to adapt an existing keyboard. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,691, the keyboard is designed to have least two sections which are pivotable and tiltable with respect to each other. Additionally, others have attempted to put a cushioning device which would surround and redesign the entire keyboard surface. These include the keyboards and cushioning attachment described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,183,149 and 5,899,616. In these patents, an attachment which is inflatable is placed over the keyboard keys such that different keys are of different heights so to reduce tension of a user's arms and fingers.
Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,115, individual cushioning pads are described for attachment to a keyboard. The cushioning pads described in this patent, however, have several drawbacks in that the pads become a permanent fixture to the computer keyboard, and removal requires the removal of residue adhesive. Additionally, the cushioning devices described in the art all have covered the keys from the user, so that the letter, symbol or number identifier of the individual key is no longer displayed to the user. The use of the prior art cushioning means requires the use of an additional attachment of a separate identifier to each of the cushioned keys in order to render the keyboard functional.
There remains a need in the art to supply a cushioning means to a keyboard which is convenient to the user, inexpensive, easily removed, and desirable to use.